Fitness One - Toronto

This company is a scam. I cancelled my membership over a year ago and they are STILL charging my credit card. DO NOT JOIN THIS GYM. I have spoken to 4 managers over the last year and none of them have done what they said they would, which is cancel my membership and STOP RIPPING ME OFF!

Hi Everyone, I have to say that I am terribly disappointed with Fitness One- it's a waste of money and time... Rude staff, faulty, dangerous and unclean equipment. Once they have your info they will never stop bothering you, I had to close my bank account 3 months after I cancelled my membership because they wouldn't stop taking payments. There is no contact numbers to call Head Office, they won't even bother with you to tell them WHY they suck. Women only? My rear!!! Many times there were males in the dressing/change rooms- yes in the CHANGE ROOM! Did they warn us there was some guy in there fixing the toilet or whatever- NO!!! This is why I left- they're horrible. There are plenty of other nicer women only gyms in the same category. Don't waste your time and money.

When I received an email from chickadvisor.com about Health Club reviews, the first gym that came to mind was FitnessOne. Sure enough, I logged on to this site and the email was about this gym. I can not explain in enough words how much I hate this gym!!! The staff are unknowledged and rude, the location I was a member of was not the cleanest and the owner is not only an a$$hole but a total scammer. I cancelled my membership on January 1st of 2009 and that should have been my last payment, however on Feb 1st they withdrawled another payment and here we are in September and Im still waiting to be reimbursed. I have called the head office, accounting department and even gone to their offices in Vaughan I dont know how many times, yet Im still waiting to see my money. I keep receiving the run around and the same old excuses "Im not sure what happened or where your cheque is or let me find our and call you back" so I've basically given up. The amount wasn't alot but that wasn't the point, its the principal behind it and that they cant scam members out of their money the way that they do. If I could report them somehow and have them shut down I would. Anyone thinking of joining this gym DONT! No matter what the monthly cost is, do not waste your time! Pay a few extra dollars more for a cleaner and reputable gym!!!! Trust me!!!!!!!

I have to agree this is definitely a horrible gym! When I first moved to Toronto I joined and while at first they seemed 'great' I quickly realized it was just a move to convince you to join! I'm someone who enjoys taking classes at the gym BUT many of the instructors were inexperienced! AND if you were able to come across a great instructor you can be assured she wouldn't be lasting long! The turnover at Fitness One is ridiculous! I think the regional manager and some staff would get jealous when they came across a great instructor because members would be begging for more classes...the next thing you know the instructor 'doesn't work there anymore' ! The monthly fee (I paid roughly $25) should definitely have been somewhat of a warning sign for me that and the fact that it was located in the basement of a shopping centre, and the rugs would be soaking wet and smelly after a rain storm! The closest location to me at the gym was Victoria Park and York Mills...I've learned from my mistake and now am a proud member of Goodlife Fitness..LOVE LOVE LOVE Goodlife!

Good Points about Fitness One:

-the price-very cheap
-machines are always available
-open 7 days a week
-women only
-can use multiple locations
-the Peter Street location is very nice, if you can get to it


Bad Points about Fitness One

-Have not gotten my membership card for SEVEN months!
and the staff could not give less of a s**t.
- I have to show my cardboard pass every time I go, and get held up at the turnstiles
-it is very dirty. The washroom at the Dufferin Mall location should be condemned.
-the machines are often rusty and squeaky, again this is at the Dufferin Mall and Lawrence Square locations
-I am afraid to cancel as I don't know if I can be assured of getting my money back

there is no way that some of these reviews can be legit. i have been a member of fitness one for over 4 years. i have used mostly the danforth and scarborough locations.

there is so much equipment and the staff are almost always super friendly.

seem to me that most these complaints are about the stupidity of the reviewer. if you cancel early and you have to make an extra $10 payment the whole club sucks? get real. i still have a membership at extreme that my work pays for. its $85 per month and the personal training is $50 an hour. the club is beautiful but so what? the staff are no better.

me and 6 of my friends are members of fitness one. we all support the club and cannot believe how cheap the memberships are. but then again- i guess we are just happy people.

if you are a whiner i guess you will be complaining about every thing anyway.

this club is highly recomended. oh did i mention i lost 32 pounds in 5 months :)

I just want to deffend me and my co-workers at Fitness One...the girls at the desks and such. We would all love to be as helpful to our clients as they would like, but sadly for us our hands are tied by HQ, so please I understand your frustration, I am too as I am also a long time member, but this is truly a no frills gym and we would appreciate being treated as people, not some monsters out to take your cash...we are only doing our jobs as best as we can.
I myself love working and working out there, and I like the no pretence feel of the place.

The ABSOLUTE worst gym I have ever been to! I joined the Fitness One facility at Main and Danforth around March '09. First off, the facility is poorly lit, has no water fountains, is dirty and some of the equipment dont work. They initially gave me a hand-written, laminated "temporary" pass, saying that I should receive the actual one "within a few months". But even after 6 months I had not gotten my actual card and kept using the "temp" one.

Due to work commitments I had to move at the end of August '09 so I went to cancel my membership knowing full well that I had to pay a cancellation fee of $150 which was fine by me since I had a contract for a year and I was terminating it early. However, the clerk helping me said that I would still be charged for September because they need a 30 day notice even though NO WHERE on the contract does it explicitly mention that I have to give them a 30 day notice.

When I asked the clerk to show me where exactly on the contract it said that I had to give them a 30 day notice she just thrust the contract in my face without finding the relevant clause, and when I insisted that she FIND it for me, it took her over 5 minutes and a phone call to Head Quarters (HQ) to find a clause in there that mentions that Fitness One will contact the member at least 30 days but no more than 90 days prior to the expiry of the membership and she used this clause as justification for charging me for September!

By their logic apparently that clause "implies" that I have to give them 30 days notice, which really makes NO sense to me. She explained how they would have to mail my cancellation forms to HQ and that would take time so it wouldnt be cancelled before Sept anyway. So by my understanding they are charging the customer for the tardiness in their processing time and when I pointed it out to the clerk, she disagreed with me and gave me the contact # for customer service. I wanted a copy of my membership contract but she wouldnt give me one because I didnt have my actual pass and its their policy not to return the contract in such cases.

I am terminating my membership early so I understand I have to pay a penalty which I was prepared to do but the way they scam one into paying for one extra month is really was the last straw and if even ONE person decides NOT to join that awful gym after reading my review I will be glad! I have prematurely canceled my membership in another gym as well (e.g. Goodlife) and their service is MUCH more professional. I will stay FAR away from Fitness One in the future.

(Saturday, April 18th, 2009)
I showed my card to Mrs. Blake* as I entered Fitness One club at 117 Peter Street, as I have done previously and as outlined on the STOP sign on the front desk -- “show or swipe you card” -- there’s no mention of taking a photo of you, or showing a photo ID. I entered the gym and she shouted “have a good workout”. She never asked to take my photo or a photo ID, nor have I ever been asked for a photo ID since 2003, and 2006 when I joined the Fitness One gym on Peter Street. Note that I have always simply shown my card and entered the gym with no hassle or incident.

(Sunday, April 19th, 2009, before 10:30 AM)
I entered the gym and swiped my gym card, as I did yesterday and before. As my account opened “Mrs. Blake” said “there’s an alert on your account” — you MUST take a photo to be stored on my account profile. I told her that storing a photo is not part of my contract, but I can show you a photo ID. I told her that none of the gym employees have aver asked me for a photo, since 2003 and 2006 when I joined Fitness One on Peter Street. At which point, she said that her employees are “not doing there job, I will fire them…” 3 weeks ago, I inquired about taking and storing my photo on my profile so that I don’t have to carry my gym card and the employee on duty told me that they charge $35 for that — it’s no longer free and even then, you still have a swipe or show your card on each visit. Did Mrs. Blake expect me to pay $35 for the photo, which she insisted I needed to take?

As the conversation went, Mrs. Blake told me that she owned the gym — I have noticed the dirtiness of the facility, including the washroom with 3 toilets and the stench and I have been meaning to talk to management— so I asked her how many times the gym is cleaned, and she said, 3 to 4 times a week. I asked her again, do you mean to tell me with all the number of people using the facility; you don’t clean the gym everyday let a lone several times a day? She arrogantly told me that “you can’t expect the gym to be cleaned everyday if you pay (she opened my account) $20/month for membership.

I had previously reached for an ID from my wallet, which was in my hand, on the front desk counter, in view of Mrs. Blake, pulled out my citizenship card and was waiting to show it her, and as soon as I finished asking her questions about the dirtiness of the gym, she told me that “your account has been cancelled as of today”! She got a pair of scissors and cut my gym card into two, which she had forcefully grabbed from my hand! She went on to say that as the owner of the gym, and she can do as she pleases with my membership. At which point, I told her that I would alert Health Canada about the dirtiness of the facility — a gym with 3 toilets can not be cleaned 3-4 times a week, it should be cleaned at least one’s a day. I also asked her if there’s any active ingredients in the liquid provided for members to clean the equipment with before and after use — I have always suspected it was just water — the liquid has no smell. She said that the liquid is “organic”.

(Refund)
I asked Mrs. Blake to give a written notice of cancellation of my membership and she refused & told me to provide my e-mail so she can send it to me. I asked her to send the cancellation notice and that Fitness One will not go into bank account and take any membership fees as of today, April 19, 2009. She became belligerent and asked me — “do you understand English”? Then said, that she will send the cancellation notice to the address on file (she looked at my account) and then asked me — “did you lie about your address as well”. The she said that she has to ensure the security of the club members from “people of your type”.

(“People of your type”, “did you lie about your address as well”, “do you understand English”)
After these chosen words, I now confirmed that I was being racially profiled as of Saturday, when I showed my card and Mrs. Blake asked me to swipe it instead. She had no interest in seeing my photo ID and that she had decided to cancel my membership for the following —
1. She could as the owner.
2. “People of your type” were not welcomed to her gym and were viewed as a threat — I am black from Sub-Saharan Africa with an accent. She quickly let me know that her father is from Africa, and she is married to black man when I asked her what she meant by “people of your type” and “do you understand English”. Mrs. Blake is a white or south Asian woman with black flowing hair — she is eloquent when she decided use the phrase “people of your type” when referring to black woman from Sub-Sahara with a Sub-Saharan accent , and when she asks me condescendingly, “do you understand English” when I am speaking with her in English, not a dialect.
3. I challenged her on the cleanliness of the gym, when I realized she was the owner.
4. I am still waiting for a communication on my refund.

(Don’t Join Joining Fitness One)
Unless you are on welfare, do not join Fitness One. The facility and equipment is filthy and the owner, Mrs. Blake told me, that she can only afford to clean the gym, including washroom, showers and toilets 3 to 4 times a week. You guessed it, they don’t bother to clean the equipment. The gym is filthy FILTHY. Yes, “Mrs Blake” is rude and racist – she referred to me, a black woman from African, “people of your type” she also asked me in a demeaning, condescending manner “do you understand English?” DON”T WASTE YOUR MONEY. WOMEN, WE NEED TO GIVE OUR BUSINESS TO COMPANIES THAT DESERVE IT AND TREATS US WITH RESPECT AND DIGNITY REGARDLESS OF OUR ECONOMIC STATUS, RACE AND COLOR OF SKIN. Fitness One preys on women insecurities – that’s why they are belligerent, rude and racist.

Ex member

I moved to Toronto a few years ago, and I was looking for a good place to workout where I could just focus on getting some good tone and progressing with my physique. I train in BJJ, and have always valued a real workout - not one where people are watching DVD's on the cardio equipment and flirting at the juice bar in their designer outfits and full faces of make-up!

The Fitness One branch which is located on the corner of Richmond and Peter in the entertainment district has been amazing. The staff is easy going and knowledgeable, and the equipment is great! I've seen local celebrities, fitness compteitors, students, house wives, business women, and even seniors in the gym...and it struck me, that these were all people who are seriously interested in their health and wellness - not some sort of fitness gong show where one is unsure if the gym is actually a night club, a video store, or a pick-up joint!

This gym has been great. I've checked out almost every gym that I can find in the area - I'm confident I made the right choice...good hours, good prices, good equipment, normal people...

Check it out - I believe they give free passes.